Fantasy Football: Don't put these players in the 'never draft again' pile — they're set to rebound in 2026

· Yahoo Sports

You know them. We all have them. Those players that we'll "never draft again" in fantasy football, because they were “a waste of a first-round pick" or "got injured when we needed them most." And in some cases, these phrases are fair enough.

I, for one, am tired of Garrett Wilson coming up just short of great, and he's mostly off my draft boards.

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However, every year, a few players bounce back from disappointing seasons to experience sweet, sweet redemption and pull off a major fantasy rebound. Last year, in a version of this piece, I specifically highlighted Christian McCaffrey (after years of injury) and Jake Ferguson (after an awful 2024), and they finished as the top scorer in all of fantasy and the TE8 overall, respectively (there were some misses too, to be clear). Dak Prescott was also excellent after a yo-yo stretch of injury years and Javonte Williams had a career year in the same offense.

So, who are those guys in 2026? May I present my top-eight fantasy rebound candidates of the year!

2025: TE21 (8 games)

I won't bury the lede here: Tucker Kraft is one of my "flag-plant players" this season. As I mentioned when breaking down his early August ADP rise, Kraft was the TE1 in total fantasy points (98.2) and points per game (14.0) through seven games last season, before tearing his ACL. He reminds me a bit of prime George Kittle, in the sense that he's an efficient big-play threat at a position that typically has low explosive plays, which also translates to high touchdown production. In fact, through three seasons, Kraft has scored a TD every 10.3 targets, the second-best rate by any player with 150+ targets at any position over that span,just behind Mark Andrews. 

Kraft is on track to play in the season opener, starting to participate in 11-on-11 team drills this past Sunday, and while he's mentioned a potential "pitch count" to start the season, I don't see his production suffering much. He's arguably the team's most efficient offensive weapon, alongside the occasional Christian Watson deep ball. He'll get his early, and potentially get stronger late. It's bold, I know, but I have him ranked as my TE3 behind Brock Bowers and Trey McBride.

2025: QB29 (8 games)

I'm not entirely sure why Joe Burrow doesn't have better odds to win AP Comeback Player of the Year after missing nine games in 2025 ... but maybe it's because he's already won the award twice (2021, 2024). Yeah, in two separate seasons Burrow returned from missing a major chunk of the prior year and was CPOY as well as a top MVP candidate. He topped 4,600 passing yards and 34 touchdowns both of those seasons, finishing as the fantasy QB8 in 2021 (his NFL breakout) and then the QB3 in 2024.

In the five years since that 2021 breakout, Burrow's 17-game pace is 4,600 yards and 36-37 touchdown passes. It almost doesn't even need to be argued that Burrow will rebound — it's just a question of whether he'll stay healthy. If he does, this could be a banner year (which is saying something), as Cincy is reportedly reshaping the offense with more snaps under center, using pre-snap motion and deploying two tight ends. If Zac Taylor finally employs a more “McVaynian” offense in 2026 (I made that word up, but he is a branch on the tree), and Burrow adjusts well, we could see him winning fantasy and NFL MVP in the next six months.

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2025: RB33 (10 games)

Bucky Irving is a curious case. In his rookie season (2024), he was a fantasy draft afterthought but exploded for 1,514 total yards and eight touchdowns. That catapulted him into the second round last season (as the RB10 in ADP), but he missed seven games in the middle of the year (shoulder, foot) and was just the RB18 in points per game. He underwent shoulder surgery in February and should be fully healthy entering the season, which will make a bigger difference to his production than we might realize.

While Irving did return in Week 13 last year, he averaged just 37 snaps and 18.8 touches per game down the stretch, with a single-game high of 42 snaps. Over the first four weeks, he averaged 50 snaps and 22.6 touches per game, and was heavily involved as a receiver (19 catches for 193 yards in September). The Bucs swapped out Rachaad White for Kenny Gainwell this offseason, maintaining the status quo behind Irving. He's poised to rebound to exactly where he was tracking before injury: a top-10 fantasy running back with a high dual-threat floor. Considering he's available in the fifth round, Irving could be a major value in drafts.

2025: WR32

DJ Moore and the Ben Johnson Bears seemed to be on entirely different pages for most of 2025. Amid the breakouts of Rome Odunze, Colston Loveland and eventually Luther Burden III, Moore saw 85 targets and caught just 58.8% of those targets (after posting a 70% catch rate each of the prior two years in Chicago). As a result, he had an incredibly lackluster season, never once hitting 100 receiving yards in a game, and finished as the WR32.

Fortunately, the Bills rescued Moore from that crowded and confusing situation, trading a second-round pick to reunite him with Panthers HC Joe Brady. When Brady was Moore's OC in Carolina — with truly horribly quarterback play — the young wideout saw a 24.7% target rate and averaged 2.0 yards per route run. Now, he has Josh Allen at quarterback and very little competition for volume (Khalil Shakir? A banged up Keon Coleman? Please). It seems like the fantasy community is writing Moore off as "washed," which seems a little premature, considering he's 29 years old and logged strong speed and YAC metrics in 2025. Don't be surprised to see a 2020 Stefon Diggs-in-Buffalo renaissance for Moore, as well as Allen and the entire offense.

2025: QB20 (13 games)

Yes, Lamar Jackson missed four games in 2025, but that wasn't even the biggest concern. The former NFL MVP ranked 16th in points per game among quarterbacks, throwing for fewer than 200 yards per game and rushing for a career-low 26.8 yards per game. The culprit? At least partially, it was the suite of minor injuries, especially the hamstring that sidelined him in October. Before that injury, Jackson threw 10 touchdowns in four contests, while averaging 41.5 rushing yards per game. After his return in Week 9, he threw just 11 touchdowns in nine games and averaged 20.3 rushing yards per game (less than half).

Heading into 2026, Jackson should be healthy and has picked up a couple notable rookie receivers in Ja'Kobi Lane and Elijah Sarratt, while switching from OC Todd Monken to Ben Johnson disciple Declan Doyle. Jackson's 16.5 fantasy points per game in 2025 were his fewest in a season as the starter by a mile — he topped 19 PPG every other year after his rookie season and averaged 25.3 just one year prior. Like Burrow, Jackson is nearly guaranteed to rebound, and it's more a question of how high he bounces back in 2026.

2025: WR29

After totaling 1,149 yards as a rookie, it was incredibly disappointing to see Ladd McConkey regress to just 789 in Year 2. What happened? Well, it was probably a few things. He played a little less in the slot with Keenan Allen active, and Allen vacuumed up 122 targets as well. But more importantly, McConkey was less efficient on his targets, and I think a major culprit was the Chargers' offensive line. Justin Herbert was terrible when pressured in 2025 — something Los Angeles allowed at the second-highest rate in the league — but posted a 107.9 passer rating, 76.2% completion rate and 7.8 yards per attempt when he was kept clean. Translated to fantasy, Herbert's receivers averaged 0.86 fantasy points per dropback when Herbert was pressured and 1.32 when he wasn't. That's a more than 50% ding to fantasy efficiency under pressure.

While the recent injury to new center Tyler Biadasz is a bit tilting, the Bolts should have Pro Bowl tackles Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater back and upgraded the guard spots as well. Plus, Allen is officially signed in Indy, which takes him off the table as a threat to McConkey. I believe in a third-year rebound (and maybe even a little extra breakout) for the former Georgia Bulldog.

2025: WR99 (4 games)

Like Kraft, Malik Nabers also made the first "Yahoo ADP watch" article of the month amid his return to health post-ACL tear. Also like Kraft, Nabers was elite before the injury and it feels like the fantasy community has too quickly forgotten. He has drawn 205 targets through 19 career games and was the WR7 as a rookie and the WR9 through three weeks before the Week 4 injury in 2025. He honestly might be the favorite to lead the NFL in target share in 2026, especially with Wan'Dale Robinson gone, and could see the best QB production of his career if Jaxson Dart continues to progress.

Nabers was being drafted as the fifth wideout off the board last August. Even after a recent climb following encouraging reports out of camp, he's only the WR12 in ADP right now. I understand the fears over a "slow start" on a rehabbed knee, but believe Nabers will assuage those concerns by the end of September. From there, he has the alpha role and the undeniable talent to be not just a WR1, but the WR1 in 2026.

2025: WR25

In some ways, Justin Jefferson is kind of like the Jackson of wide receivers this year. We all know he's one of the best at his position, both in the NFL and for fantasy, but he was a horrendous bust in 2025. Specifically, Jefferson ended up with a career-low 1,048 yards and just two touchdowns last season, as J.J. McCarthy, Carson Wentz and Max Brosmer struggled to maintain watchable levels of quarterback play.

And while you may not be convinced that Kyler Murray is the “Prince Who Was Promised” up in the frigid North — that's a Game of Thrones reference for you — he's almost certainly better than the trio Minnesota fielded last year. In his one healthy season with Kyler back in Arizona, DeAndre Hopkins was the WR5. With Kevin O'Connell at the helm of the offense and Jefferson in his prime, that honestly might be the floor for the four-time Pro Bowler's rebound. If you end up with a pick near the turn in 12-team leagues, pairing Jefferson with a strong RB1 feels like fantasy robbery. Expect him to quickly relegate his 2025 bust to the distant and forgotten past.

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